‘The Odd Couple': Players we know, love

By Katie WinklerFor the Times-News

Published: Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 5, 2013 at 11:56 a.m.

Flat Rock Playhouse's production of Neil Simon's classic American comedy "The Odd Couple," directed by Kate Galvin, welcomes back to the main stage some of the area's most beloved vagabonds and secures the position for some newer faces as well.

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Charles Flynn-McIver and Scott Treadway, whose comic chemistry has never disappointed this reviewer, are back as Oscar and Felix, mixing up the laughs with Simon's memorable one-liners, still odd after all these years. In the hands of this talented pair, the oft-produced script takes on new life.

Flynn-McIver and Treadway delight us, as always, with their physical comedy and impeccably delivered one-liners, but their performance also reveals the heart of a true, enduring friendship, born out of the bitter pain of divorce.

Joining them at the great poker table of friendship are more familiar faces and an intriguing new one. Poker buddies include the curmudgeon Roy, played by longtime vagabond Ralph Redpath, celebrating 43 years on the Rock, and FRP veteran Peter Thomasson as the divinely timorous Vinnie, who told everyone when he sat down that he was gonna have to leave at 12 o'clock 'cause he has to drive to Florida in the morning with his wife for vacation. He told you!

Michael MacCauley, busy last season at FRP in "Noises Off!" "Guys and Dolls" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," returns as Murray the cop, again utterly delightful as he discusses the virtues of his friend Felix's sandwiches. Gary Littman as Speed, a stereotypical hard-nosed New Yorker, makes his FRP debut with a flourish, rounding out the lovable bunch of poker-playing buddies.

The feminine side of this testosterone-infused play is represented most enjoyably by Laura Woyasz and Ellie Mooney as the delectable British sisters Gwendolyn and Cecily Pigeon. The pair have a chemistry all their own and are simply a joy to watch, and to listen to. I certainly hope these two will also become regulars at FRP, wowing us again and again with great comedic presence.

Scenic designer Dennis C. Mauldin, costumer Leeanne Deaver and sound designer Bryan Delany effectively take us back to 1965 and the New York apartment of recently divorced Oscar Madison. Five longtime friends are playing poker and wondering about the whereabouts of their missing companion Felix Ungar, who makes such wonderful sandwiches. (He cuts the crust off, that's the secret.)

Perhaps refreshing to a 21st-century audience, these men seem to genuinely care about each other and worry about their missing friend. Worry turns to alarm when the group finds that Felix's wife has kicked him out of the house — for good, and Felix is thinking about ending it all. The distraught Felix arrives, leading to hilarious onstage antics as the friends hover over Felix, fearing that he might bring some harm to himself.

Oscar, super slob, takes in the neat freak Felix but is soon outdone with Felix's obsessive-compulsive cleaning, elaborate cooking and annoying sinus-clearing. When Felix ruins Oscar's first night in months in the company of women, Oscar can't take it anymore, leading to the inevitable Simon blow-up that keeps the laughs coming. In the end, of course, the friends find that even though they can't live together, they are better friends, and better people, for having done so for a little while.

"The Odd Couple," based on his brother Danny's experiences after enduring a divorce, is one of Simon's first and most enduring successes. With it, Simon won the 1965 Tony Award for best author, an award now retired, and established himself as a premier American writer of comedies.

In 1968, Simon penned the screenplay for the film version, starring Walter Matthau as Oscar and Jack Lemmon as Felix. Of Simon, Lemmon said, "Neil has the ability to write characters — even the leading characters that we're supposed to root for — that are absolutely flawed. They have foibles. They have faults. But, they are human beings. They are not all bad or all good; they are people we know."

Add into the mix actors we know and love, and those we want to know better, and FRP has a winning combination for its first major production of the 2013 season.

Hail! Hail! The gang's all here!

Katie Winkler, a longtime Henderson County resident and patron of Flat Rock Playhouse, is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America. She is active in area theater as an actor, director and writer.

<p>Flat Rock Playhouse's production of Neil Simon's classic American comedy "The Odd Couple," directed by Kate Galvin, welcomes back to the main stage some of the area's most beloved vagabonds and secures the position for some newer faces as well.</p><p>Charles Flynn-McIver and Scott Treadway, whose comic chemistry has never disappointed this reviewer, are back as Oscar and Felix, mixing up the laughs with Simon's memorable one-liners, still odd after all these years. In the hands of this talented pair, the oft-produced script takes on new life. </p><p>Flynn-McIver and Treadway delight us, as always, with their physical comedy and impeccably delivered one-liners, but their performance also reveals the heart of a true, enduring friendship, born out of the bitter pain of divorce.</p><p>Joining them at the great poker table of friendship are more familiar faces and an intriguing new one. Poker buddies include the curmudgeon Roy, played by longtime vagabond Ralph Redpath, celebrating 43 years on the Rock, and FRP veteran Peter Thomasson as the divinely timorous Vinnie, who told everyone when he sat down that he was gonna have to leave at 12 o'clock 'cause he has to drive to Florida in the morning with his wife for vacation. He told you! </p><p>Michael MacCauley, busy last season at FRP in "Noises Off!" "Guys and Dolls" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," returns as Murray the cop, again utterly delightful as he discusses the virtues of his friend Felix's sandwiches. Gary Littman as Speed, a stereotypical hard-nosed New Yorker, makes his FRP debut with a flourish, rounding out the lovable bunch of poker-playing buddies. </p><p>The feminine side of this testosterone-infused play is represented most enjoyably by Laura Woyasz and Ellie Mooney as the delectable British sisters Gwendolyn and Cecily Pigeon. The pair have a chemistry all their own and are simply a joy to watch, and to listen to. I certainly hope these two will also become regulars at FRP, wowing us again and again with great comedic presence. </p><p>Scenic designer Dennis C. Mauldin, costumer Leeanne Deaver and sound designer Bryan Delany effectively take us back to 1965 and the New York apartment of recently divorced Oscar Madison. Five longtime friends are playing poker and wondering about the whereabouts of their missing companion Felix Ungar, who makes such wonderful sandwiches. (He cuts the crust off, that's the secret.)</p><p>Perhaps refreshing to a 21st-century audience, these men seem to genuinely care about each other and worry about their missing friend. Worry turns to alarm when the group finds that Felix's wife has kicked him out of the house — for good, and Felix is thinking about ending it all. The distraught Felix arrives, leading to hilarious onstage antics as the friends hover over Felix, fearing that he might bring some harm to himself.</p><p>Oscar, super slob, takes in the neat freak Felix but is soon outdone with Felix's obsessive-compulsive cleaning, elaborate cooking and annoying sinus-clearing. When Felix ruins Oscar's first night in months in the company of women, Oscar can't take it anymore, leading to the inevitable Simon blow-up that keeps the laughs coming. In the end, of course, the friends find that even though they can't live together, they are better friends, and better people, for having done so for a little while.</p><p>"The Odd Couple," based on his brother Danny's experiences after enduring a divorce, is one of Simon's first and most enduring successes. With it, Simon won the 1965 Tony Award for best author, an award now retired, and established himself as a premier American writer of comedies. </p><p>In 1968, Simon penned the screenplay for the film version, starring Walter Matthau as Oscar and Jack Lemmon as Felix. Of Simon, Lemmon said, "Neil has the ability to write characters — even the leading characters that we're supposed to root for — that are absolutely flawed. They have foibles. They have faults. But, they are human beings. They are not all bad or all good; they are people we know." </p><p>Add into the mix actors we know and love, and those we want to know better, and FRP has a winning combination for its first major production of the 2013 season. </p><p>Hail! Hail! The gang's all here! </p><p>Katie Winkler, a longtime Henderson County resident and patron of Flat Rock Playhouse, is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America. She is active in area theater as an actor, director and writer.</p>